1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of switched telephony, and more particularly to a system and method for caller control of a distinctive ring.
2. Description of the Related Art
When placing a call to a called party, a caller may often desire to provide indicia of his or her identity to the called party, or attract the attention of the called party so that the called party is more likely to answer the telephone. A caller may do so by controlling the ring pattern of the called party's telephone. This is accomplished by the caller invoking a distinctive ring control feature. Present systems provide for a distinctive ring if the call originates from a particular calling directory number, or a distinctive ring if the called directory number belongs to a predetermined call group, or a plurality of distinctive rings corresponding to a plurality of directory numbers assigned to a single telephone line. These systems, however, do not provide for caller control of a distinctive ring for a directory number specified by the caller.